I Did It My Way
by Black-Angel-001
Summary: Set for mid season 1, no connection to an ep. There's a cop convention in Hawaii, bringing Danny's old partner and secrets from Jersey with it. When Danny is injured in a seemingly random attack, H50 uncovers a cover up that could become deadly.
1. Chapter 1

**I Did It My Way**

**Black-Angel-001: well, i hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii 5-0...but if the guys don't come back next fall, you might find them in my attic...just sayin'.**

**I Did It My Way**

For the first time since he'd joined 5-0, Danny was actually happy to go to work. Alright, that wasn't entirely true-he was always glad to go to work (it meant he was making money) because he did enjoy what he did, and enjoyed the company of his co-workers. But this day, he was really happy. Exstatic, actually. Okay, he was grinning like a kid at Christmas, but what the hell, he had good reason.

First, he was actually driving his car. That's right, for once Danny had control of the Camaro, the radio, and Steve had to deal with it from the passenger seat.

Second, he had Grace for the upcoming weekend. Not just Friday night through Sunday, but all of Friday, thanks to a school holiday. It seemed Rachel was in a rare good mood. Maybe Danny would send Stan a thank you card. On second thought...Danny shuddered at the implications.

And third, the entire 5-0 team had two weeks off. Not off in the way they had the time to themselves, but it was even better than that. For the next two weeks, they wouldn't take any cases barring something like an impending terrorist attack or the gononer being shot at; instead, 5-0 would be attending a cop convention.

A cop convention!

So yeah, Danny had every right to grin like he was.

Steve was well aware of his partner's grin, well aware of the cause. He stared at Danny a minute then shook his head.

"Why are you so excited about this? It's a convention."

"A cop convention. A convention full of police officers who, quite possibly, actually follow procedure and protocol. A convention full of cops from the mainland, more importantly, from Jersey! You know, this is the third happiest day of my life." Through the entire speech, one of Danny's hands waved through the air, punctuating his points.

Steve grinned over at him. "Let me guess, both of the others involve Grace?"

Danny's open palm slapped the steering wheel. "Both of the others involve Grace." He glanced at Steve, looked back at the road. "Of course, you'd be more excited if it were a bunch of Army guys getting together to talk about...whatever Super SEALs talk about. Probably how to pick off a target from three hundred feet while fighting hand to hand or something."

"How do you keep confusing this? It's Navy. And no, I would not be more excited about a SEAL convention."

Danny waved Steve's comment away without concern.

"Okay, fine. But this, this will be great. Trust me. And hey, you might actually learn something."

Danny parked the car and they both headed for the hotel.

**Black-Angel-001: yes, these sorts of things do take place. fairly short chapter, but that shouldn't last too long. expect the next chapter sunday!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I Did It My Way**

**Black-Angel-001: thanks so much for your great reviews! yeah, i know, spelling isn't perfect but whatever. second chapter, where there's actually more for you to contemplate! i know it took a while getting here, but life has a way of taking plans and messing with them, ya know?**

**I Did It My Way**

Every so often, cops from all over the US would get together in one agreed spot and discuss new techniques, new procedures, and other things that improve law enforcement. Mostly, it was sergeants, lieutenants, captains, or detectives from major city departments who attended, because they had the means to send two men wherever they had to go. It was as much a social networking as it was a proffessional one. It was a chance for the cops to realize all over again that they weren't the only ones out there. The hotel was putting up more than two thousand police officers from all fifty states. Various ball rooms were reserved for the different events and smeinars scheduled throughout the next two weeks.

Most of the officers were in jeans or dress slacks, with a polo shirt with the departments name and seal emblazened on it. They all milled about one of the great ball rooms, aqauinting themselves with each other.

5-0 stood a ways from everyone else, watching everything. Danny's eyes were glinting with excitment. The convention had just unofficialy gotten underway, and Danny could hardly wait to start talking and interacting. Chin and Kono were getting excited about it too, although they were more reserved about it than Danny. Steve wasn't quite sure about any of it yet. But he was willing to admit it was interesting.

Danny went up to a sergeant from L.A., introduced himself and Steve.

"Hi, I'm Det. Danny Williams. This is my partner Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett. Hawaii 5-0."

"5-0, huh?" He shook both their hands. "I'm Sgt Tom Wilkins, LAPD. This year should be good. Me and my partner for this trip, Lt. Bob Stratford, we've got some new techniques for busts, big operations, y'know?"

Danny chuckled and shifted his feet, gesturing with both hands. "And once again, LAPD has the new stuff."

Sgt. Wilkins grinned. "Got an image to keep up. Nice meeting you, see you later."

Danny nodded and moved off to a group of three men. Steve touched his arm and Danny paused before reaching the group, turning to him.

"What exactly are we doing," asked Steve.

"Meeting people. This is the essential part of this convention. Of anything really." At Steve's bland look, Danny faced him completely, hands already beginning to move and voice becoming patient. "Okay, look. If we meet people, made a memorable impression, even make a friend, that's a contact we can use. That's another database entirely that we have access to. And who knows? Maybe that connection will lead to more connection. And we're doing the same for them. Get me?"

Steve nodded once, expression totally solemn and serious. "Yes," he said. He waved a hand at the room in general. "All of this is for cops to gain their own personal, nationwide information network and database."

"What? Wha-no!" Danny half turned away and back again, ran a hand over his mouth, the other at his hip. "No. The information thing?" His hand cut horizontaly through the air. "That is just an unoffical professional bonus. All of this," he said while imitating Steve's earlier hand motion, "is for cops to gain more knowledge to make things safer and easier. Like the new techniques the sarge from LAPD was talking about."

Steve didn't look convinced. Danny's hand moved from his hip to his pocket, the other moving back and forth as he stepped closer.

"Half of the procedures in place in every department in the States, like SWAT, came from LAPD. The only reason those other departments have that knowledge is because of these sorts of things."

"Well I see Hawaii hasn't mellowed you any."

Danny spun around and his face broke into a grin.

"Mike! I didn't know you'd be coming."

The two men embraced in a half hug, half handshake.

"Of course I was coming, you nuts. Island of paradise, trip and room paid for by the department? Then there's seeing you, of course," Mike added like an afterthought, but he smiled to show he was joking.

Danny smiled at him and put both hands in his pockets. "Who came with you?"

"You won't believe it. Sgt. Greg Miller."

Danny's eyes widened and out came his hands, in motion. "You're kidding. Miller made sergeant? Dopey Greg Miller?"

While Mike laughed and nodded, Steve stepped up, confused. " 'Dopey Greg Miller'?"

Danny grimaced apologetically. "Sorry. Mike, this is my Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett. Steve, Det. Michael Hooper." He gestured between the two while they shook hands. "MIke was my partner after I made detective. As for Greg, everyone called him Dopey after the Disney character, 'cause he was simple, kind of clumsy. Great guy though." He looked back at Mike. "Sergeant?"

Mike shrugged. He turned to Steve, looking him up and down. Steve felt like he was being evaluated, and not in the 'how do you measure up as my old partner's new partner' kind of way. More like a threat assessment. But why would Mike need to do that?

"Lt. Cmdr, huh? HPD sure has a different ranking system."

"He's not part of Honolulu PD," Danny explained. "He's not even really a cop. He's a SEAL not really turned cop."

"SEAL?" Mike looked him up and down again. And again, Steve felt like it was a threat evaluation. "How does a SEAL not really turn into a cop?"

Steve frowned. "I am a cop," he protested.

Danny raised an eyebrow at him, gestured wildly. "You took a crash course."

"I can arresst people."

Danny shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Not helping your argument here, Steven." Looking at Mike he said, "We're part of a task force, take on high profile stuff. Call it Hawaii 5-0."

Mike whistled and nodded vigorously. "Not bad Danny. Moving up in the world, are ya?"

"Still the same crap pay, just deadlier. Got shot my first day."

While the two men talked about Danny getting shot and the other things that had happened so far, Steve looked around. Everyone was engrossed in some kind of conversation, even Chin and Kono. He began to feel like a bit of an outsider.

Okay, so a police acadamy crash course and the ability to arrest people didn't actually make him a cop. But, Steve figured he was getting there. After all, it took more than going to an acadamy to make a cop.

Steve looked at Danny as he laughed with Mike about one of their old cases. Then again, it also took more than a few high profile cases and only a few months of doing the work.

Every officer in that room had started as Kono had: a rookie. All of them had worked traffic violations as well as murders. All of them had learned over time what worked and what diding. They had all worked hard for every letter of commendation, every promotion.

Steve had done similiar things himself in the Nave: figured out the system, worked hard for each promotion. But it was different than working in a police department. In spite of all his experience in battle and his knack for figuring out the lead they needed on a case, Steve was more of a rookie than Kono.

"The only time I've seen Danny this happy and excited is when he's with Grace."

Steve turned. Chin and Kono were standing next to him watching their haole with amusement. Danny made the introductions and Steve felt his body tense when Det Hoopers eyes glinted with something that Steve couldn't really identify yet. He noticed how the man's hand stayed with Kono's just a few seconds more than what was appropriate. Chin must have realized it too, as Steve felt his father's former partner tense just a little.

Hopper kept most of his attention on Kono, dishing out compliments and falttery that made the young woman blush and smile.

"Hey Danny," Hooper said, finally turning his attention away from Kono, "when we've got some free time you could show me around."

"I don't know about that," interjected Steve before Danny could reply. "Danny doesn't know that much about the island."

"Sure I do," Danny protested. At Steve's disbelieving look he added matter of factly, "I've watched _Lilo and Stitch_ with Grace before."

"_Lilo and Stitch_? You claim knowledge about this island based on a child's movie?" Steve's hands waved around in incredulity.

Danny shrugged. "Hey, I heard it's fairly accurate regarding the language and traditions."

"That's not the point!" Steve's hands waved around some more.

"You have a point," countered Danny with an arched eyebrow. "Really? You have a point? By all means, share with us this point you seem to have. I'm sure it will be highly enlightning." Danny crossed his arms and waited.

Before Steve could, one of the men in charge of the convention called the room to order and said it was time to begin the first seminar.

**Black-Angel-001: ok so that's the second chapter. i'm hoping to have the next one up next sunday as well but don't hold me to it...**


	3. Chapter 3

**I Did It My Way**

**Black-Angel-001: thanks to everyone who reviewed, put the story or me on alert, and those who just read it. i'm glad you all seem to enjoy it. and yeah, steve may feel like an outsider at the moment but you can be sure it won't last.**

**I Did It My Way**

The convention had gotten off to a great start. The cops had been shown a working protoype of a new bullet proof vest that was lighter and allowed more movement, but still stopped the bullet as efficently as before. There had been demonstrations of the vest on dummies and one volunteer. There were more seminars for things like new detaining and apprehending technique, managing witnesses _("Need to record that one and play it in the car over and over again," snickered Danny with a look at Steve_), and new weapons being used for beat cops and tactical units (of course Steve perked up for that one). There were twenty minute breaks between each seminar and an hour and a half for lunch. The day ended at five pm and would pick up again at eight the morning.

So yeah, Danny figured it was off to a really great start.

Now if only his head would stop pounding, it would be even better. Despite his headache, Danny was still driving his car back home and refused flatly to relinquish control. Then his phone rang.

'Hi, Rachel," he said after looking at the screen and hitting the answer button.

Steve glanced at Danny during the silence and did so again, sharply, when Danny practically shouted, "_What!_"

Deciding it was best to mind his own business (he'd hear about it eventually) Steve focused on the scenery. But when Danny pulled to the side of the road and cut off the engine, Steve looked over to see his partner glaring out the windshield and violently thrumming his fingers on one leg, which was bouncing up and down.

"No, Rachel, you can't. I can tell you that because it's total bullshit."

Steve's eyebrows went up. Must be bad if Danny was swearing at her. Maybe they were moving to Europe? Steve didn't like that idea too much.

"I will if I damn well want! Rachel, I never agreed to any of that! None!" Danny listened and if Steve focused more on the tiny shrill voice, he could listen too.

Steve didn't want to focus on the voice though-he wanted to focus on his partner.

Danny's face was stoney, hard in profile. There was a tick in his cheek and one of the veins in his head was starting to pulse. Steve had seen Danny pissed three times: once when Rachel threatened full custody (and almost got it), again when Stan had put Grace (and yeah, Rachel, Steve grudgingly allowed) in danger, and the last time had been the cop who'd framed Danny's old partner from HPD.

This? This was not Danny Williams pissed. This was Danny Williams _livid_.

"Oh yeah," Danny was saying now. "Well since your lawyer seems to hear from my lawyer more than I do, your lawyer can tell mine to just-"

"Okay," Steve interjected, snatching the phone away from Danny's ear and putting it to his own. "Rachel, Steve. Danny's gonna call you back." He hung up before she could get anything out.

In the driver's seat, Danny had his head leaned back, his eyes closed, and was breathing deeply. In his lap, his always moving hands were clenching and unclenching tightly. There were little lines across his forehead that told Steve he was also getting a migraine.

They sat silently, Steve watching Danny, Danny trying to calm down. Steve didn't think it was working.

Finally, Danny said quietly, almost to no one in particular, "I am getting an immediate flight back to Newark, New Jersey."

Steve didn't say anything to that, waiting for the explination.

"I am going to go to New Jersey," he said again, "and I am going to stuff every one of my legal documents from my divorce down my lawyer's throat."

The conversational tone Danny used was almost scary.

"But not before I beat the shit out of him, and maybe tie him to the hood of my car."

Alright, the wistfullness? _That_ was scary, coming from Danny.

"Hey," Steve said. Danny didn't look at him. "Hey," he said again, louder.

Danny's head rolled his way, his eyes open, and yeah, there was a murderous glint to them.

"Why do you want to murder your lawyer? Besides the fact that he's a lawyer?"

The humor didn't work the way he hoped it would.

"Because he's more of an incompetent, unethical jackass than I thought."

Steve waited again. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Apparently, Rachel's lawyer talked to my soon to be former lawyer and brought a deal to him about custody, maybe changing Grace's last name."

Steve felt his mouth fall open and he shouted, "What?"

"Exactly. Thompson agreed to most of it, but not the name change. That's what Rachel was calling to tell me about-that it wouldn't be two weekends every month. Instead, how about one weekend a month?"

That murder plan didn't sound all that bad, but Steve pushed it aside.

"What are you going to do," he asked instead.

Danny started the car again. "I'm going to drop you off then go to the office. I gotta call Thompson and fire him, then look for a new lawyer, preferably someone here on the island."

"I could help you."

Danny glanced over at him. "No, thanks, I've got it." He paused and made a motion with one hand. "Thanks though. Really."

The rest of the drive was silent contemplation.

**Black-Angel-001: new development! what will happen now? hopefully it won't be too long before my next update for you to find out :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I Did It My Way**

For the rest of the week, Danny spent most of his time on the phone, either with his 'soon to be former lawyer' or Rachel. Sometimes one of them called during a seminar and as he moved out of the room, sympathetic eyes followed him. Other cops understood the problem of ex-wives and their lawyers, and they were more than willing to help support him if they could, in the universal way of cops.

If the cops from the mainland were willing to support Danny, then his 5-0 team, family, more so. Chin and Kono kept Danny occupied with the convention, comparing procedures in Jersey to those in Hawaii. Steve listened to Danny when he started in about his lawyer, Rachel, Rachel's lawyer, and the entire thing in general. He bantered and picked on Danny like he normally did, which helped.

After each day of the convention, Danny would drop Steve off at home before going to the Palace. Steve didn't know what Danny did there every night. For all he knew, Danny was perfecting his murder plans for his lawyer.

Steve was sure that Danny wasn't doing that. But, just to be on the safe side...

Steve waited about thirty minutes before he got in his Silverado and headed for the Palace. He parked next to Danny's Camero, headed straight for his partners office.

There were low level lights on for cleaning crews and subsequently anyone walking through or working late. In the 5-0 bullpen, a lamp in Danny's office was the only real light there. Steve slowed down to watch Danny a minute. His partner was leaning back in his chair, reading a file and absently chewing the cap of a pen. For a second, Steve was confused. Danny was coming here, dealing with the situation by reading case files? It didn't make sense.

He didn't knock before entering and he didn't wait for permission. Danny looked up and went back to the file.

"I am very busy right now. Go away."

As a Danny rant, it was very lacking. Regardless, Steve didn't go away; instead, he sat on the edge of the desk and leaned over to look at the other files on the top.

"What're you doing," Steve asked.

"Reading. Get off my desk."

"What're you reading?"

"A file. Would you get off my desk?"

Ah-ha, a voice rise and fall in irritation. Progress.

"What kind of file?"

"A dossier." Danny could no longer stand it. He slapped the file down on top of the pile, tossed the pen with it, and began gesturing. "What, is something wrong with your hearing? Huh? No I didn't think so. I've told you twice already to get off my desk, now do it. See, that's the third time. What is it with you and a blantant disregard for other people's property, huh? You drive my car, invade my home-"

"That's you, not me," Steve interjected quickly.

"-and sit on my desk," Danny continued like he hadn't heard Steve. He probably hadn't. "I have two perfectly good chairs here, do you have some kind of aversion to chairs or something? Or are my chairs just not good enough for you? You're still on the desk, why are you still-?"

One of Danny's hands flopped to the armrests, one across his eyes.

Steve watched him. "Feel better Danno?"

"No I do no feel better." The hand across his eyes flew to the side. "I'm telling you off the desk and you're not listening to me."

"This surprises you?" McGarrett quirked an eyebrow.

Danny's lips twitched into a smile. "No, it doesn't."

Steve decided to get back to the matter at hand. His chin jerked to the files. "Whose dossiers are ou reading?"

Danny popped some Advil before asnwering. "Lawyers here in Hawaii. I asked kamekona for some help and he gave me these."

"Is this what you've been doing every night?"

Danny shrugged, waved a hand. "I need a new lawyer."

"Huh. Pick one yet?"

Danny pushed the one he'd been reading toward him. "Got one in mind."

Steve picked it up and started reading. Kailani Jameson, born in Hawaii on the Big Island, moved to New York with her father and younger sister, worked NYPD practically straight out of high school before she became a lawyer. She had a liscense to practice in New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii. Steve flipped through the pages, noting everything from high school grades to solve rates to convictions.

Steve put it back down. "Why her?"

Danny looked at it. "Why not her? She's here in Oahu, she's lived on the mainland, she know the law for three different states. Mostly, 'cause she was a cop."

"That's it?" Danny nodded. Steve's eyebrows cocked up. "Really? Because she was a cop? From New York no less!"

"I hate Hawaii but I don't hold it against Chin and Kono that they're cops here. A cop is a cop. Besides, she'll get it."

No need to ask what she'd get-Steve knew. Steve got it too, like he got Danny's struggles as a single dad, Grace's struggles as the kid of a cop. If Danny thought Kailani Jameson would be good based on that, Steve would support it. He's support nearly anything for Danny, except things that took him away from Gracie.

"I'm gonna talk to her in a few days," Danny said as he began to put things away, straighten up. He turned off the lamp and they headed out.

Before they got in their respective vehicles, Danny looked over at Steve, shifting a second before looking him in the eye.

"Thanks," he said simply.

Steve didn't ask what for. He knew. He smiled and said, "Anytime partner."

**Black-Angel-001: finally an update! the next one will be on my next off day whenever that is...**


	5. Chapter 5

**I Did It My Way**

**Black-Angel-001: so i barely have time to write which means i have pretty much no time to respond to reviews in a proper way. but my mama always said to give thanks when thanks is due so overall to all who have a) reviewed, b) put this story on their alert list, c) favorited this story, d) favorited me, or e) just read it period...THANKS! gives me warm fuzzies to know my work is appreciated :)**

**I Did It My Way**

Kailani Jameson's office was on the fourth floor of an office building in Honolulu. The reception room was light, the walls painted a soft neutral. Her office was just as light and airy, and warm and inviting. Her desk, made from dark mahagony, was near the wall across the door, there were two plush chairs in front of the desk and two big windows looking out over the beach and water offered not only a great view but larger amounts of natural light. She had her degrees on the wall, of course, but mostly there were photos of her family, friends from the precinct in New York, awards and commendations from those years.

Danny looked at it all, then looked at the woman it all belonged to.

Kailani had the look of her mother's heritage, with long black hair, brown eyes, and a golden brown complexion. She wore a suit skirt (and yeah, he was so going to tell Steve that there was someone besides him that wore buisness dress in Hawaii) and kept her hair down, tucked neatly out of her eyes. At the momen, she was reading the divorce file Danny had brought.

She looked up at him, pushing the file to one side.

"What do you expect me to do for you, Det. Williams," she asked him.

He didn't have to think about it too hard.

"I expect you to have my interests. I expect you to not make deals behind my back. I expect you to follow my wishes to the best of your ability and within the law."

Kailani nodded. "That's reasonable."

They talked, Danny telling her about his lawyer in Jersey and what he'd done, his constant custody battle with Rachel.

"The job is dangerous, I know that," Danny said about it. "I know I could di. But that's one reason why I wannt more time with my daughter, to actually get the scheduled time; I may end up dead tomorrow."

Kailani watched Danny's hands as they moved, his expression as he spoke. "Alright, Detective, let's talk some more."

By the time Danny walked out of her office, he had a new lawyer.

The team could tell the slight change in Danny the next day-his shoulders weren't so slumped, he didn't look as tired, and he didn't take as many phone calls, or make them. They were happy things were looking better for their friend.

Danny made sounds of agreement to Michael as he dry swallowed two Advil. His seemingly ever present headache had been growing all day, and honestly, he just wanted to get away from Mike.

A couple of days into the convention, Danny had started to get flashes, impressions, feelings. They were jumbled, fuzzy, didn't quite make sense (yet), but he knew they had something to do with Mike. Danny just kept getting the feeling that something was really off about his old partner. Like now, Mike was talking about an old case of theirs, a drug ring they'd shut down, but Danny kept thinking about a different kind of ring, something involving Mike, something...

Steve and Chin seemed to have the same idea as Danny about something being off concerning Michael. The two stayed away from Mike as much as possible, even told Danny that they didn't trust the man. Danny had scoffed, but warning bells had gone off. Steve and Chin Ho were adept at getting a handle on people, and Danny trusted them, enough that he let them around Grace. So when they came to him with their own thoughts and impressions, Danny payed attention. To top it off, Chin was trying to keep his cousin away from Mike. Yeah he hadn't liked Danny and Kono kissing undercover, but he hadn't done more than glare, well within his right to do so, of course. But with Michael, Chin did everything he could to make sure Kono wasn't near the man. If he couldn't avoid it, he stayed nearby the entire time, body stiff and guarded.

And Danny knew there was a good reason for all of it, he just couldn't think of it.

It was nearing the end of the convention, in the middle of the second week, and Danny went to bed exhausted.

He dreamed.

It didn't make much sense, it didn't even feel like a dream-more like a memory. Danny woke from it with a start, the sequence out of order and confusing, the feeling of a bright flash, a defeaning pop, and heat still on the edge of his conciousness. He went to the convention with it always in the back of his mind, still not quite able to piece it together. Every time he tried, it just caused a bigger headache and left him distracted. Instead of paying attention to the officer currently speaking about the new law being considered about cops having to wear their vests so the department could get government funding (Danny figured wearing a vest was a given anyway), he was staring across the way at Michael.

Michael seemed to sense the scrutiny and turned. His eyes looked around before they locked on Danny's gaze. While brown studied blue and vice versa, Danny took in Mike's expression. He felt like he'd seen it before...

_Danny slid into his car, eager to get home after that rough case. Some beer, t.v., cuddling with the girls, that was all he had planned. He looked out the window and saw Mike standing at his own car, watching Danny. Mike's expression was blank, except for the almost gleeful anticipation in his eyes. Then Danny blinked and the look was gone, replaced by his partner's easy grin. Mike lifted a hand and waved. Danny returned the movement before turning the ignition. There was a sudden blinding flash, a loud pop, heat, pain, nothing..._

Steve nudged him and Danny blinked. He glanced at Steve then back to Mike. The man was still staring at Danny, still wearing that almost blank look. Then he grinned, gave a quick wave, and turned back to the speaker.

Danny felt sweat begin to trickle down his back, wasn't entirely sure why, and shivered.

**Black-Angel-001: progress! but what does it all mean? what in the world did danny remember? how does mike fit into it? what about rachel and the douche lawyer? the team? ... good questions, aren't they? will try to update again ASAP!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Black-Angel-001: i realize that the update has been lacking and that this is a very short chapter...well, can't rush these things, i'm afraid. thanks for your patience!**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I do own Hawaii 5-0 and it's characters. I am, in fact, one of the writers for the show...ppffft, yeah sure...none of the afore mentioned is true.**

**I Did It My Way**

The convention had been over for three weeks. The cops had gone back home, 5-0 was taking dangerous cases again, and Danny was still getting all of his legal documents from Jersey, thanks to Thompson dragging his feet. Although Danny had gotten most of the important stuff to Kailani pretty early on, he was eager to get everything out there. Danny figured something was going to happen, he just wasn't sure when and that made him a tad nervous.

A hard hit from behind as he walked out of his door knocked him to his knees. Before he could get up or defend himself, a boot kicked him in the ribs and something wooden slammed across his back. Stunned and out of breath, Danny couldn't do much to prevent himself from being dragged away.

Danny was late. Really late. Over an hour late. He wasn't answering his phone and no one had heard from him. It wasn't like Danny and it messed not only with Steve's perception and routine, it was actually kind of starting to piss him off, as if Danny was doing it on purpose. He stood up from his desk and went to the "war room".

"Anything," he asked Chin.

Listening to Danny's voicemail, again, Chin hung up without leaving a message. He shook his head.

"Boss, I've got a bad feeling," Kono spoke up. "Danny's never late, he makes it a point to be on time."

"And if he knows he won't be, he calls," added Chin.

"I know." Steve tapped his fingers against his thigh, then spun around and headed toward the door. "I'm going to his apartment. Call me if you hear from him."

Nothing seemed amiss when Steve first pulled up. He knocked on the door and got no answer. He knocked again, harder, calling his partner's name. Again, no reply (like calling Danny's cell phone all over again, he thought), Steve peered in through the window. The cracked blinds let him see a bit, enough to make out what Danny liked to call a lived in mess in the living room. However, he couldn't see Danny. Back at the door, he twisted the knob, surprised and alert when the cheap door opened. Steve went in with his gun drawn.

He went through the apartment slowly, looked behind every door. While he was clearing the last room, his cell went off. Satisfied he was the only one there, he flipped it open.

"Yeah, Chin."

"Steve, Danny's been found." Before Steve could ask where, Chin said a little shakily, "He's at the hospital."

Steve was directed to the ER waiting room where he found Chin and Kono sitting quietly, occassionaly glancing at the double doors down the hall. He stood in front of them, followed their gaze.

"What happened?"

"From what witnesses could tell us, Danny was shoved out of a light blue truck at the ER entrance. No one's come to update us yet," Kono explained.

"We were waiting for you to get here before we took over questioning from HPD," added Chin.

Steve nodded. "Okay. Kono go ahead and question the witnesses some more. I want to know if anyone saw any faces in that truck. Check the cameras too, maybe there'll be something there." He looked at Chin. "If Danny was dumped here, they moved him. Go back to his apartment and go over everything, check his route to work. He must've been grabbed at one of those places."

The cousins nodded and started off. Chin paused and looked over his shoulder at Steve.

He smiled tightly. "Don't worry, I'll call when I know something."

Chin nodded again and followed after Kono. Steve sat down and waited.

An hour and a half later, a nurse came through the double doors.

"Daniel Williams," he called. "Family of Daniel Williams."

Steve went to him. "Danny."

"Exscuse me," asked the nurse, confused.

"It's Danny, not Daniel."

The man nodded. "Follow me."

He told Steve to wait in another room, and that the doctor would be with him as soon as possible. After fifteen minutes Steve was ready to start dangling people off roofs when the doctor finally approached him.

"Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett," he inquired, looking at a clip board.

"Yes." Steve started to stand but the doctor waved him back down before he too sat.

"Dr. Simmons. Let me start off by saying at the moment, Det. Williams is alive, not so much on the well part." Dr. Simmons looked at the clip board again. "He has suffered major blunt force trauma to the head, upper and lower torso, and his back. His shoulders are also strained which combined with the marks on his wrists, indicate to me that he was hanging at the time of the beating."

Steve's eyes narrowed slightly. "What are his specific injuries?"

The doctor sighed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "A skull fracture, a grade four concussion, with swelling and bleeding of the brain present. At least on rib is broken, four others are bruised bad enough they might be cracked. There's multiple organ bruising, some internal bleeding; his appendix and spleen have to come out now. There's some apparant swelling of the spine, but we don't know if anything's permanent at this point. Thus far, he hasn't regained conciousness at any point, and his responses to stimulation are less than great."

When Steve let that all sink in and absorb, it was like a miricale Danny had survived that far. Steve swallowed.

"What happens now?"

"Now Det. Williams is in surgery. He'll be on a different array of drugs until there's no longer a need for them. The neruosugeron is looking at his scans and x-rays and will probably order more later to determine if surgery is necessary. Really at this point, it's a wait and see."

"Mahalo," Steve said absently. The doctor nodded promising that someone would talk to him after the surgery.

Steve pulled out his phone, updated Chin, then placed another call to Rachel and, more importantly, to Grace.

**Black-Angel-001: dun dun dun! short but can't progress too fast...or maybe in this case it wouldn't hurt lol**


	7. Chapter 7

**I Did it My Way**

**Black-Angel-001: i am bent and determined to get as many chaps out as possible today! i am sooo sorry for the long wait guys! if you're still reading, thanks! here's something to make the wait worth it!**

**I Did it My Way**

Every fairly normal person has basic instincts and basic needs, like survival instincts and the need to be loved. These may be the most comon and well known, but they aren't the only ones. Some instincts and needs are stronger in certain people. Sometimes, these two basic componets of the human psyche clash, resulting in stalemates or terrible aggitation; sometimes both. Like in Steve's case, he has a strong instinct to be out and doing something. He also has a strong need to be protective of family.

Steve's instinct and need were definetely causing both agitation and stalemate. On the one hand, he wanted to be out there with Chin and Kono finding the sonsuvabitches who'd done this to Danny. On the other hand, Steve also wanted to stay at the hospital waiting for Danny to come out of surgery, for Danny to wake up, for Danny to get better and rant. Steve just wanted to wait for his partner, period.

It was a vicious, emotionally draining cycle.

Rachel was sitting not two feet away from him didn't help. Steve didn't know what to say to her; all the usual platitudes weren't really working for him, so he doubted she'd appreciate them right then. The only time she'd spoken to him was to tell him she would tell Grace when there was news.

"Steve McGarrett," a doctor in green scrubs called.

Steve stood and the doctor shook his hand.

"I"m Det. Williams' lead surgeon. If you'll come with me I'll update you on his condition."

Rachel stood, hands pressed together in front of her stomach.

"I'm Danny's ex-wife, and listed as his next of kin," she said.

The doctor pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and looked at it.

"Next of kin and emergency contact both list Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett. Sorry." He led Steve through another set of doors.

"He's in recovery," the surgeon said without preamble as they walked down the hall. "As I'm sure the admitting ER doctor told you, we removed his appendex and spleen, both of which were close to rupturing. We repaired several tears in various other organs and are keeping an eye out for more. He'll be taken for some tests in the next twenty four hours to determine the state of his spine and brain swelling. To help reduce the swelling in both spine and brain, we're keeping him on steroids, which was started in the ER. You may expect the neurosurgeon and orthopedist later when the tests are completed."

They arrived at yet another pair of doors (how many could one hospital have?) and that was where they stopped.

"Normally visitors aren't allowed in recovery. However, my supervisor got a call, as did the other doctors who would be dealing with Det. Williams' case, I'm sure. Full cooperation is to be given to you and your team. As that's the case, I expect you'd want to see him right away. Five minutes only, though."

With that, Steve was finally led to his partner's bedside.

The bruises were ugly-turning black and purple all over Danny's face. Steve could even see some on his arms, the abrasions on his wrists. He found himself focusing on the vent, the woosh click rhythm.

He'd seen worse. Hell, he'd been on the recieving end of worse. But this was civillian life, there wasn't supposed to be this.

Steve sat silently in a chair for the entire five minutes.

Once Danny was in a room in ICU and had a uniformed police officer outside the door (Steve wasn't taking any chances), Steve headed for the palace. It wasn't what he wanted to do, but there wasn't anything he could do for Danny but that. He wasn't a doctor, he was an almost cop, Danny's partner. Steve couldn't help him medically, but he could find the guys who'd put Danny in ICU and put them somewhere, prefferably for a long time.

When he got to the office, Chin and Kono were leaning over the screen in the war room, talking quietly. They looked up at him, saw his haggard and drawn look, and became more concerned the closer Steve got. They waited for him to stand right next to them, a little afraid of the answers they might get.

"Steve, is Danny-?" Chin let the question hang, uncertain. He knew how quickly a situation could change.

His boss' eyes went wide. "Shit," he swore loudly. "I completely forgot! I'm sorry, guys."

Chin nodded knowingly. "We understand, brah."

Forcing his attention to where it had to be, Steve looked at the computer screen once he updated them on Danny's condition. "What have you got so far?"

Kono pulled up a photo of Danny's apartment. "CSU is still going over some stuff, but they haven't found much." She pulled up a different set of photos side by side of outside the apartment. "But here we have some blood and drag marks."

"There isn't enough for DNA testing to confirm it's Danny's* but the blood type matches," put in Chin. He gestured to the photo of the drag marks. "We think Danny came out of his apartment, heading for work, was subdued, then dragged away, probably to the truck described earlier."

Steve considered that. "Witnesses?"

"Few, far, and not looking to talk to cops," Kono replied, leaning palm and hip against the table, head slightly cocked to one side.

The neighborhood Danny lived in wasn't dangerous; Danny would never have allowed Grace over if that was the case. But the apartment building was fairly low level housing (cheap enough for a divorced, low paid cop, Danny had said) and it meant families on goverment welfare, in most cases. Plus, with the fairly well known amount of corruption within HPD, Steve wasn't awfully surprised at the reluctance.

"We found the Camaro abandoned a few blocks away, searched. Whatever they were looking for they didn't find there, just like at the apartment. They're still going over that too, but don't expect to find anything," Chin informed him.

"What about at the hospital," Steve asked.

"Good news and bad news," Chin said as he moved the photos for a video. It began to play. "We've got a good shot of the truck, and a partial plate, which we're running. We also have a good facial shot of the perp pushing Danny out."

Steve watched the older model Ford pull up to the ER, a door swing open, and Danny's limp body tumbling out. A head, some of an upper torso, and a pair of arms came out with Danny, and the head swivelled around to the left and right, as if looking around. The camera got a grainy but otherwise unobstructed view of his face.

"So what's the bad news," Steve wanted to know. They had a partial liscense plate, and a picture of one of the perps. It was more than what they usually got without dangling someone off a roof or using a grenade.

"We ran his face through the system," Kono informed. "He isn't in there."

The SEAL frowned. That was a potential problem he could admit (to himself at least); it was easy enough to jump from one island to another. Even if their perp had stayed in Oahu, there were hundreds upon hundreds of people all over the island, making it easy to blend in a crowd. Then there was the dense jungle, the mountains, the caves. A smart perp would use any and all advantages, like the other islands or jungles. A less determined cop would figure it to be a usless lead and move on.

But this perp wasn't smart and Steve was very determined.

Normally, Danny would pick up on Steve's train of thought and add his own ideas, which were usually right in line with Steve's. Chin filled the void almost hesitantly, as if he expected the blonde Jersy native to say something.

"This may be this guy's first major crime," he said. "Someone more experienced would know better than to stick his head out the door where security cameras may be. Not only that, he looks pretty nervous, almost sick."

Steve considered that. It was plausible.

"If that's the case, these guys are hired help, and this wasn't random," Steve put together.

"But why target Danny?" Kono looked at her two teammates.

That was a good question no one seemed to have any good answers to.

"An old open case from Jersey," suggested Steve, although Chin immediately shook his head.

"He would have had to wrap up as many cases as possible. To hear Danny tell it, he left cold cases. The one open murder case he had went to another team and was solved a few months ago."

"What about a solved one," asked Kono, deffering to her cousins experience.

Chin thought about it. "it's a stretch, and a big one. We'd have to consider which division, go through pracitically hundreds of cases."

"I figured homicide was most likely," mused Steve.

"Maybe, but Danny was in Narco, and major crimes. There are way too many possibilities," answered Chin.

"I don't care, well look at them," Steve said with finality. "Call Newark PD, talk to Danny's old captains. partner's, whatever, and get their help. I want a picture of that guy on my phone in less than fifeteen minutes."

As Steve walked away, the cousins shared a look. They hadn't really realized how much Danny did for the team by not putting up with Steve's Navy commanding style. Steve was seperating himself slowly from them, becoming more of a Navy SEAL commander than the leader of 5-0 and it was going to strain them. For all their sakes, they hoped Danny would get better soon.


	8. Chapter 8

**I Did it My Way**

Steve got a photo to Kamekona, but the big man hadn't seen him before. He swore to ask around and did, getting nothing. Steve tried with other contacts, as did Chin, but they got nowhere fast. Steve also checked in on Danny at the beginning and end of each day. His partner was still in ICU, still on a vent (for the time being), but there was no damage to his spine and the tests looked promising. The swelling in his brain had gone down enough that Danny wasn't in as gread a danger from it anymore, but he hadn't shown any signs of waking, not once. It had the doctors concerned but not overly-at the moment. All they could tell Steve was wait and see.

Wait and see if Danny wakes up, wait and see if they ever find the perps. Wait and see if Steve ever got the answers he needed about his mother's murder. Wait and see if his father would live half a world and one phone connection away.

It seemed that was the story of Steve's life-wait and see-and Steve was tired of it. There were some things he had to wait for (Danny to wake up, answers about his mom), but there was at least one thing he didn't have to wait for.

In the SEALs, Steve had often operated without knowing the exact location of his target and still found it. So finding someone on the island who knew about nearly every criminal activity happening or had happened recently? Not a problem. In fact, Steve found it was quite easy once he talked to (threatened, Danny would say) a few people to get a name: Tristian Ikes. Finding him, though, was proving to be a little harder but Steve loved a good challenge.

The guy Steve was interrigating now (_"This is not an interrigation, Steven, not a proper one. We've been over and over and over this you over sized neanderthal!"_) was being just a little difficult, keeping his mouth shut even as his eyes got wider every second. Without Danny for the good cop, bad cop give and take, the effect wasn't quite the same. Then again, without Danny there wasn't anyone there to keep him away from the really good (_"Bad, they are really bad!"_) ideas.

Steve had the guy, Loki, strapped to one of the walls in his crappy apartment. While Loki stood there spread eagle and sweating, Steve sharpened the small array of knives strapped to his hip, speaking casually as he did so.

"You know, I really could use the practice so I should thank you for that."

Steve lightly ran a thumb over the blade and, satisfied that it was sharp enough, tested the balance. Done with that, he placed it in the belt with the others, then went to the coffee table, looking at various papers before picking one. He drew something on it with his pen, tilted his head to one side like an artist considering a masterpiece, then held it up so Loki could see.

"And if I'm going to practice, might as well use this, right?" He stuck a piece of tape to the top of the page. Steve held it up over Loki's chest, above his heart, thinking. "No, you know what," he remarked to himself. He moved the bullseye lower until it was over Loki's groin. "Better."

Steve moved back to his former postition, deliberated again, moved back farther. He pulled a knife, lifted it up and down with an almost casual air.

"Last chance," he offered.

Loki's eyes glared at him and some muffled sounds came from the gagged mouth. Steve shrugged.

Without another word and what appeared to be no time to aim, Steve let the knife fly through the air. It plunked into the wood between Loki's spread left arm and his side. The criminal screamed through the gag and thrashed.

"If you move it'll be worse," warned Steve before he let another knife go. It landed above his shoulder, near the neck. In a conversational tone, like he'd heard Danny use before, Steve said, "You know, my right eye isn't so good as my left. Hurt it during a mission. So," he trailed off. He closed is left eye. While the thrashing, squirming, and screaming got worse, Steve threw the next blade.

It landed next to Loki's knee and Steve nodded in satisfaction. "Getting closer. Sure you want to keep going?"

Loki looked nearly willing, but his hesitation lasted long enough for Steve to throw again. This time, he took tremendous care to take aim. The knife plunged between Loki's spread legs, just below his groin, and close enough to the inside of his thigh to cut. The man thunked his head against the wall, tears falling. He gave Steve a look that said enough to let the SEAL pull the gag down.

Thirty minutes later, Steve was heading out again.

**Black-Angel-001: had to have a little steve style interrigation thrown in lol**


	9. Chapter 9

**I Did it My Way**

Steve let Chin and Kono pick up Tristian Ikes while he went to the hospital. Even though he knew the hospital would call with any news, Steve felt better about getting regular updates, checking on Danny himself. It also gave Steve the chance to update Danny on the case, although he wasn't sure his parnter could hear. Rachel was just coming out of Danny's room when Steve got there, and the bleak, watery look she wore told him there wasn't any change and she was loosing hope. As he passed, Steve paused long enough to squeeze her shoulder. He saw her grateful look as he went through the doorway.

The ICU room was standard and like all the others on the floor. The only real furniture, if you could call it that, was the hospital bed Danny lay on and the small chair in the corner. Other than that, the room was full of medical equipment and machines. Steve pulled the chair up to the bedside and sat heavily in it. He rubbed his forehead, then moved his hand massage his neck. The longer this entire thing went on the more tired he felt, older. He sat in silence in first five minutes of his fifteen minute visit. For the last ten minutes he talked about the few updates they had, the new lead. He didn't talk about how he got that lead, simply because Danny couldn't rant.

When time was up, a nurse came to check him. She gave him a brief smile before going about her duties. Steve watched from the doorway until she went by him as she was leaving. With one last glance at Danny, Steve went down the hall to the waiting room.

Rachel was sitting in one of the ten chairs, running a hand over the cover of a photo album. Steve knew it was full of drawings Gracie had made for her daddy; since she wasn't allowed to visit as per hospital regs, she drew two, sometimes three pictures a day, which Rachel put in the album and then took to Danny. It was a poor substitute for his daughter, but Steve thought it was as close a second as possible.

There was a clatter of hurried footsteps coming down the hall and two rushed figures went past the little cuby hole that served as the waiting room. Both Steve and Rachel had looked up automatically but only Rachel stood, shock, relief and a little trepidation playing across her face.

"James! Alice!"

The man and woman who had gone by came back. They simply stared at Rachel for a second before the woman stepped forward.

"What happened," she demanded.

It took Steve a moment, an embarressingly long moment, to realize that the two people before him were Danny's parents. Danny looked like his father, from his blonde hair and blue eyes to the shape of his nose and jaw. It looked like he'd inherited his loud abrasive manner and shorter stature from his mother, though.

Rachel, flustered, waved to Steve. "He can tell-"

Danny's mother didn't wait for her to finish, just whirled on Steve and headed to him. "What happened to my son?"

Yeah, just like Danny, Steve thought with some amusement.

"Ma'am, I'm Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett," he started.

Mrs. Williams moved her hand in a circle. "Yes, I know. I'm Alice Williams, that's my husband James. Now, what. Happened?"

"Danny was severely beaten almost a week ago. I'll make sure his doctor tells you-"

"No," she interuppted. "You're his partner so you can tell me."

Steve sighed and told the whole thing, listing Danny's injuries and prognosis, such as he'd last heard. He also told them about the investigation, what he could of it anyway. They both listened with the utmost attention, Mrs. Williams' eyes misting over with tears. Mr. Williams put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. When Steve was finished, Danny's father nodded.

"Thank you, Cmdr," he said.

"Please, call me Steve."

"Still, thank you. Now if we could speak to his doctor," James said.

"I'll go find him," Rachel offered. She scurried away before anyone could approve the idea or not. Steve thought Rachel was relieved to have any reason to get away.

"Car's parked Alice," a new voice in the doorway said into the somewhat akward silence.

Alice gave the newcomer a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Gregg. Come meet Danny's new partner." She gestured between the two men. "Lt. Cmdr Steve McGarrett, Gregg Thompson. Gregg was Danny's parnter right before he left home."

Gregg shook Steve's hand and evaluated the Naval officer. Apparently whatever he saw gained his approval.

"Glad to finally meet you."

Danny's doctor came in to speak to James and Alice. Gregg glanced at the little trio, then back at Steve before he jerked his head to the doorway.

"Have a moment?"

Steve led the way to a fairly secluded section of hallway. Gregg looked around before turning his full attention to Steve.

"I wanna talk to you about something," he began. "This isn't the first time Danny's been in the hospital like this."

"Being a cop, I imagine he's been in a hospital before," Steve replied dryly. Where was Gregg going with this?

"Sure, but the time I'm talking about was major, and before he was my partner. Okay, let me try again." Gregg paused, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright. About five years after Danny became a detective, he was involved in a car bombing. Keep in mind, this is mostly second hand information. The word around the street was that a gang Danny and his then partner were investigating planted the bomb because they were getting too close.

"Danny spent about a month in the hospital because of second degree burns and some head trauma. He had no idea why he might've been targeted, or much of anything from before, case wise."

"Why are you telling me this," asked Steve.

Gregg gave him a considering look. "Because I never bought the explination the higher ups gave, ever."

"So you think these two incidents are related?"

"I think it would be a good idea to check."

The two men stared at each other, testing. Steve's phone rang and never taking his eyes from Thompson, he answered.

"Yeah. Okay I'll be there soon."

With a nod to Gregg, Steve headed for 5-0 headquarters.

Steve found Danny's lawyer, Kailani Jameson, waiting for him in his office, already seated in one of his chairs. He closed the door behind him and sat at his desk, suddenly impatient without exactly knowing why.

"Miss Jameson, what can I do for you."

"Several days ago, Danny gave me this letter, addressed to you." She held the thin envelope out to Steve, who took it. "He told me to give this to you five days from the day he gave it to me, unless he said otherwise. It has been five days, I haven't heard otherwise, so here it is." She stood to leave, as brisk and business like as her words had been. At the door she paused and turned back.

"If there's anything I can do." Kailani left it at that and walked out.

Steve studied the envelope. His name was scrawled across the front in Danny's hurried but neat writing. Steve tore it open and found two slips of paper, on a letter and the other a series of numbers. He studied the numbers before turning his attention to the note.

_Steve:_

_This is really cliche and way too cloak and dagger for me, but it is what it is._

_Hopefully I'm not dead. If I am, then go ahead and kill the SOB and you, Chin and Kono have to follow my will to the letter, no matter what Rachel and Stan try to do; Kailani can help with that._

_If I'm not dead, then this is good, great event. However, I'm also not bodily able to do what has to be done, hence why you are reading this._

_The series of numbers with this letter is the combination to my safe and not some kind of encrypted message Catherine needs to decipher. Afore mentioned safe is the spare tire compartment of the Camaro; see you're not the only paranoid bastard around here._

_In that safe are files about a case I was working in Newark but never finished. Everything in those files will help you now, as I can't._

_Good luck._

_Keep an extra close eye on Gracie and Kono, okay? I'm not sure if it'll come to them being used, but then again..._

_-Danny_

Steve read it again, slowly and carefully. Gathering both pieces of paper in his fists, Steve practically ran out of the palace and to his truck. Steve had kept Danny's Camaro parked at his house, and he was suddenly glad he did.

Parking the truck behind the car gave him some cover from watching eyes and Steve used every bit of it. He found the safe, unlocked it, put all the files and folders in the pack he was carrying and headed inside.

Steve pent the rest of the evening and night studying the papers, reading each one carefully. By the time he was done, all Steve could think was, 'What the hell?'


End file.
